Friday, July 31, 2009

Media Matters to Run Anti-Lou Dobbs Ads on CNN

Lou Dobbs is cankerous, he is old. He is a true idiot. His true political affiliations long guessed, at best, uncertain - he goes up and down the dial to suit his purposes, his ratings - Lou has made a true fool of himself by becoming the bull horn for the birthers movement.

Now there's plenty of people who dislike Obama, but even some of his most ardent critics, Ann Coulter and Bill O'Reilly, have denounced the birthers movement, bringing into question the rationality of their paranoid thesis.

Media Matters is plenty pissed about this; in fact, they recently bought air time for anti-Lou Dobbs adds... on CNN!

A Media Matters spokesman tells me the group has bought a week of ad time on CNN, MSNBC and Fox News in D.C., New York, and Atlanta, beginning Tuesday. The catch: Media Matters has specifically purchased time to air the ad during Dobbs' show -- putting CNN in the position of either running the spot or nixing it and making this a bigger story.

And Lou's recent rants haven't been good for ratings, either:

Yesterday we noted that CNN host Lou Dobbs' "birther" obsession -- the right-wing theory Dobbs has been trumpeting that President Obama has no U.S. birth certificate, is an "undocumented" alien, and his presidency is "illegal" -- has been good for creating controversy and hot feelings but bad for CNN's ratings. In short, since Dobbs began talking Obama birth certificate conspiracy theories on his radio show, his audience on CNN has decreased by 15 percent.

Interesting - did you know Lou Dobbs graduated from Harvard? Finally, someone who makes the peakers look scholarly. There's certainly a fair amount of Obama I don't like, but this reeks of racism. Please... can anyone envision a white American woman flying to Africa, getting knocked by a tribesman, and trusting primitive 1960s tribal health care over America's?

The president could mail a copy of this to every doorstep in a America, and it still wouldn't matter: the birthers would be left unsatisfied. This is driven by a clique who's not interested in political morality, but rather, looking to gain an edge - either politically or monetarily. The sheep being led by this is the same flock that got riled up back in the '90s: over a silly, but politically-dividing blue stain on a dress.

Consider Obama's skin color: he's as much white as he is black. Seriously now: is a white American woman really going to fly over to Kenya, get knocked up by a poor tribesman, and sit around on the continent for nine months, away from her family and friends - trusting Kenya's 1960s-era medical care over America's? This doesn't add up.

Even Dobbs has been saying he he believes Obama is a US citizen, born in the state of Hawaii. Lou is a cankerous stooge who’s proven time and time again, he’s willing to go all over the political dial to drive ratings. Against his better judgment, his recent political gambit has been a disaster - for his ratings and CNN.

Now there’s a fair amount about Obama I don’t like either; but when you have the likes of Ann Coulter and Bill O'Reilly denounce this - both seasoned predators who would bounce in an instant on any meaty, controversial topic that would rattle the president’s ratings, and make them more money - you know this goony conspiracy theory is just plain rank.

Yup, all three are electrified goon-bunnies in the birther movement. Proud?

Sorry, but the water is under the bridge: Congress overwhelmingly decided to put it to rest, and should the birthers. These goons are like the 9/11 truthers, the peak oil doomers, and the ardent rats who supported (and still do) the war in Iraq because they believe (and some still do) Saddam had WMDs. It doesn't matter how much proof pudding or genius logic you feed any of the three - it just stokes their fervor or paranoia even further; and like any religious zealot, they'll never admit they're wrong.

Well, you see, the birthers are not viewed by most of America (and the rest of the world) as apart of mainstream society: they're viewed as an irrational, lunatic fringe; and being irrational, the best evidence will only serve to rile up a fringe minority, not silence them. Remember the Hawaiian birth certificate presented last year? (“IT'S A FORGERY!!”) And since the birthers have a crazy proclamation, the burden of proof lies with them - people who so far have not been presented any facts rationally. Speaking of facts…

Kenya was not a republic on the date of the certificate; it was a Dominion and would not become a republic for another eight months.

Mombasa, where Obama was allegedly born, belonged to Zanzibar at the time.

Nyanza was a district in the 1960s, not a province. It would not be named province until 1970.

And that's not even naming all of the flaws on it - particularly for a 48-year-old birth certificate that appears in conspicuously good shape.

Now mind you, I'm not even that crazy about Obama. I didn't vote for him in the Democratic primary, and the only reason I voted for him in the presidential election was because I didn't want Sarah Palin, who makes dubya look scholarly, be one heart beat away from the oval office.

There's plenty of flaws about Ombama's presidency I'm more than happy to discuss, including: his spendthrift polices, his paternal relationship with Wall Street firms, his continuation of torture policies, or his secrecy with FOIA cases. However, a conspiracy theory that carries no merit to most of America, is laughed at by the rest of the world, has so far been stigmatized to the racist red neck crowd, is, by all accounts, not one of them.

You are carrying on...attacking messengers...personally...but ignoring the simplest way to dispell the whole matter...and one that President Obama has complete 100% control over: Release the long form birth certificate.

That's the problem...you can carry on...but it's President Obama who has the ability to dismiss the concerns (with the stroke of a pen) and make all those who have raised the concern look as you have characterized them: IDIOTS!

President Obama's inaction to do that gives these people more credibility by the day.

And your personal attacks and willingness to ignore the issue effect your credibility.

In other words, the president is hanging you and his other defenders out to dry.

Why is this even a concern? Well over 90% of the American public doesn't think this is a concern, neither does the global community; so in other words, the president isn't going to view a flock of fleas as worthy of his attention. Lou Dobbs is the one who took a bet on this, and he struck out horrifically: Lou Dobbs Tonight is down 15% in the ratings.

If one wishes to criticize or sack the president, they need to do so in an intelligent, democratic fashion based on pertinent issues - health care, spending, foreign policy, etc. Not something based on racial overtones.